(es/ck) While the arrival of winter is still awaited, the natural track luge athletes are ready to start the season. The last weeks before the season will be kicked off, are being used to fine tune body as well as equipment. Last year’s single and doubleseater overall World Cup winner Patrick Pigneter can look back to a summer of meticulous preparation: “In fact, I spend a lot of time on my training in summer and you can say that I prepare myself in a professional way. But I still work part time in my father’s company as an office clerk.” How big his training workload is? “About seven to ten units per week, overall about 20 hours of training.” Pigneter’s preparation already starts at the end of April. “To get into a good constitution, I do endurance training – with my road bike and my mountain bike –, go running and hiking and do strength training”, Pigneter explains. “During summer I also resume technical training: start training, summer luge but also training on the glacier.” While Pigneter has to train on his own most of the time in spring and summer, in September he starts working out with the national luge team. Once in a while Pigneter practices together with well-known South Tyrolean athletes like alpine skier Peter Fill and snowboarder Roland Fischnaller: “During my preparation I trained together with Peter and Roland. That’s always a fruitful exchange between colleagues and a very welcome change in the program.”